Ecliptic and equator

What’s this?

Pocket Observatory is a fun and educational astronomy VR experience, offering an intuitive, hands-on approach to learn about the skies above. Follow the motions of stars, sun, moon, and planets!

You're not alone

Invite a friend for a voice chat beneath the stars! On Gear VR, you can connect via the Oculus platform, and check out each other's local sky view. It's a great feature for educational purposes or just hanging out together.

Realistic day and night cycle - experience the sky around sunset, see which constellation the sun is in during the day.

Social VR - invite a friend for a voice chat (Gear VR only).

Built-in virtual landscape - together with the fantastic field of view in VR, the increased sense of scale will help you identify the constellations on the real sky.

Time controls for viewing a certain time of day, or adjusting time over hours, days, or months.

Different observation positions on earth - experience the sky from your own location, the north pole, or the south pole. When connected in a chat, the remote GPS location is available, too.

Explore!

Here are a few ideas for things you can try out in Pocket Observatory:

Find out what stars and planets will be visible at your GPS location tonight.

Invite a friend to chat and visit each other's local sky views.

Watch the moon rise and check out the current lunar phase.

Preview an upcoming lunar eclipse.

Fast forward to sunrise, to see whether Venus is visible in the morning.

See how the sky rotates about the North Star on the northern hemisphere.

Let the sky revolve horizontally around you as you are standing on Earth's axis.

Experience polar day and night.

View the constellations on the other hemisphere.

Understand how everything on the sky flips upside down as you travel to the other half of the planet.

Discover the variations in the Milky Way in different parts of the sky.

See how the position of the sun relates to the zodiac on your birthday.

What discoveries do you make?

For Samsung Gear VR

The Gear VR version including the voice chat component is now available via the Oculus Store.

For iPhone

Pocket Observatory is now available for iPhone on the App Store - you'll need a Google Cardboard compatible viewer.
Please note that this version is somewhat more limited than the Gear VR version:
- voice chat feature is not included
- time remote control is not included (time is only adjustable over the 24 hours range)